Frequently Asked Questions

A credit insurance policy is a guarantee that you will be paid, subject to the terms and conditions of the policy, for the merchandise shipped or services rendered to your customer. By assuring payment, credit insurance can strengthen your company’s balance sheet and enhance your borrowing power, helping you grow your business.

Credit insurance covers the unpaid credit balance from sales made to customers located domestically or in over 140 countries. A credit insurance policy is structured to meet your specific needs – offering the types and amounts of coverage that make sense for your company

Protection Against Customer Bankruptcy and Insolvency

Under the policy, you will be reimbursed for losses on covered accounts. This helps to protect your profit margin and lets you sleep at night knowing that all of your assets are adequately protected.

A Resource for Credit Intelligence

When you’re considering selling on credit to a new customer or extending additional credit to an existing customer, it’s important to know the customer’s current credit history. Our professional underwriters will analyze accounts using a wealth of information, including a proprietary database, and let you know the limits of credit that would be covered under your policy. You can use this information along with your other credit resources to decide how much credit you wish to extend, as well as the terms of the credit agreement. In addition, if we deny coverage, we will tell you why…so it’s like getting a second opinion on a customer’s creditworthiness.

Helps Increase Sales

A credit insurance policy may allow you to extend larger lines of credit to some of your customers, thereby enabling you to increase sales. Without credit insurance, you may have to limit credit lines to many customers so that you are comfortable with the amount of risk you can assume

Enhanced Borrowing Power for Your Company

Your insured portfolio of accounts receivable can assist you in procuring larger loans or better terms from your financial institution.

Past Due Collection Services

As a credit insurance policyholder, you will be able to take advantage of our collection services to control past due accounts before they become uncollectible. Our professional collectors can handle accounts nationwide, in addition to many overseas locations. We will also act as a liaison in any litigation that becomes necessary.

Because each business is unique, a credit specialist will work with you to customize the policy to your particular needs. In general, accounts are covered in several ways. Some accounts will be automatically covered while others will be specifically listed on your policy. Additionally, you may choose to cover certain markets for political risk where applicable.

As your business grows, the credit specialist will help you to adapt your policy accordingly. For example, you can add new customers or make changes to existing coverage

Credit insurance can protect you against severe credit losses, which result in reduced working capital and an erosion of profits. Just as you insure your property, your inventory and your employees, it is prudent to insure all of your assets against severe loss. With the risk of ongoing bankruptcies, it pays to protect your profits by insuring your accounts receivable.

The premium is determined by the individual structure of your policy. The premium can range from less than 1/10 of 1 percent to about 1/2 of 1 percent of covered sales. Premiums for overseas sales may be slightly higher and will vary on a case-by-case basis

It depends in several factors such as the size of the risk, terms of sale, loss history, the quality of the risk but the cost can be surprisingly low. Generally is just a small fraction of 1% of the covered sales basis, premium can range from .25 to .35 basis points on your sales

Coface North America, Inc. is a Coface Group company. For over 67 years, Coface Group has provided insurance products and services to facilitate business-to-business trade. Today, Coface is a world leader in credit insurance and credit management services, serving 83,000 clients worldwide. With offices in 97 countries and networks of credit information and credit insurance partners in 200 countries, Coface delivers the credit management approach that successful companies require – local service that is backed by global strength. An excellent “AA” rating by Fitch further demonstrates the strength and stability of Coface.

Choose us as your receivables management partner

You can tap into all of the Coface resources to better manage your business